Châteauneuf du Pape, Clos des Papes, 2017
A nose of kirsch and liquorice, replicated on the palate with additional flavours of bramble, crème de mure and salt and pepper notes. Rich, smooth, round and layered. A certain power and richness but with some restraint to it. A beauty. The blend is unusually low in Grenache even by Clos des Papes standards, comprising approximately 45% Grenache, 40% Mourvèdre and the rest Syrah with a dash of other permitted varieties.
critic reviews
Marked by severe coulure on the Grenache—resulting in an unusually high proportion of Mourvèdre in the blend—and shaped by a hot, dry growing season, the 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Clos des Papes unfurls from the glass with a brooding bouquet of tobacco leaf, licorice, dark fruits, plum and floral accents, with a subtle reductive thread woven throughout. Full-bodied, dense and structured, it's elegantly muscular, with a spice-driven complexity, a deeply layered core of dark fruit and a tannic frame of exceptional precision. It's a brooding, long-lived wine that will reward the patient.
Mixing 45% Mourvèdre with 45% Grenache and the remainder split between Syrah, Counoise, Muscardin and Vaccarèse, the 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape was cropped at a mere 16 hl/ha. Pronounced black plum, dried herbs, peppery features and gentle cocoa come alive, complemented by a beguiling minty streak. Full-bodied and framed around a firm tannic core, the complex 2017 demands at least five more years to start showing its full potential.